Monday, February 10, 2014

New Tattoos!

Hello lovies!
This weekend was quite the (stereotypical) gothtastic time for me. I went thrift shopping and I got some new tattoos (in addition to sitting in my darkened living room on Tumblr long after the household had gone to sleep and watching such cliche favorites as The Lost Boys). I'm not entirely certain I stuck to my shopping resolutions of previous posts, although thanks to the fabulous ARC Thrift Store's "Sale Saturday" I did manage to stick to budget with my purchases at least. Style-wise, I have decided that more boyish looks tinged with traditional Punk flare are quite suited to me.
Something like this (minus the cigarette)
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Although I do love Victorian and Lolita themed clothing and accessories, they just don't sit too well on me. Thrift-store-wise, I've realized my biggest problem is buying things just to say I bought something. This seems rather silly, but it's a drive to my nearest thrift store, and it takes a while for me to go through the racks and ponder in the dressing room, so if something fits me, I will sometimes buy it even if it isn't in keeping with the style I've made up my mind to pursue. This is a bad habit as I will usually not wear said item by the time I get it home. I shall try to think of a solution in the future...
As I continue to try turning my style into one that fits me (and stop wearing the exact same outfits I wore in high school) some sources of inspiration have been 80's Punk and Trad Goth (of course) 90's grunge, Riot Grrrl (thanks Sary for introducing me!), and even some skater/hipster style. Hopefully I'll have some history posts up soon to show you all just what I found so inspiring about these subcultures/fashion scenes! I'm also debating messing with my hair (making it shorter because its so fried.) and I still hunt for the perfect pair of ankle boots...alas I cannot afford Docs.
These. I want.
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After my thrifting adventure, it was off for tattoos! It was quite the enjoyable experience at my local Ravenwood Tattoo. I'm friends with the owner/artist Lady, and my friend Raven from school came along for the ride. In short, we had a tiny explosion of gothdom for the hour and a half it took me to get tattooed what with two old school Trad goths, a shop full of gothy goodies, blaring industrial music, and, of course, tattoos. If you live in Colorado I would certainly recommend Lady at Ravenwood. She's been tattooing since the 80's and she knows her stuff! Plus, she's just awesome.
Forearm piece in progress
My very first little wrist tattoo got a touch up
Finished forearm frame.
For writing quotes, homework assignments...playing tic tac toe...
Red and white roses (for Alice in Wonderland) 
Yay for adding new art to my body! Now it's just the annoyance of aftercare and then a round of touch-ups.

Song of the Day:



Sunday, February 2, 2014

$1 Cosmetics, & Renewed Inspiration

Helllllllllllooooo Internet! It's been a while.
Sorry that last statement is getting to be a normal disclaimer for this blog. I guess I won't promise new and exciting posts to come as I seem to have a "fall-in-fall-out" relationship with blogging and its mostly been of the "out" variety over the past few months. Suffice it to say that I'm trying to catch up on reading everyone's posts, becoming increasingly inspired by the gothic community, and am excited to have at least one idea for a post right this second! So lets get on with it shall we?
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I'm thrilled to the tips of my black painted fingernails to share a positive review for E.L.F's line of $1 cosmetics, available at most Target stores here in the USA. $1 cosmetics? You may be saying to your spooky little self, surely we're straying dangerously close to the truly scary using-cheap-white-Halloween-facepaint-as-foundation side of the gothy universe? But fear not fellow makeup pursuers, I am glad to report that E.L.F's handy dandy line of products is well worth its $1 pricetag. I picked up some concealer, eyelid primer, and a pressed powder on a whim while I was at Target the other day and so far they've pleased me for the following reasons:

  1. E.L.F is a cruelty free company! No animal testing, woohoo!! In addition to products for the eyes, lips and face (see the acronym there?) they also make pretty decent nail polish. 
  2. The eyelid primer is light and easy to blend into the skin with a brush or wedge applicator. 
  3. The concealer comes in a shade, Apricot Beige, that actually matches my skin color. Although it does smell a bit like cheap lipgloss...
  4. The powder does an awesome job of covering up my stubbornly red cheeks and applied over a bare face (no foundation or concealer underneath) it takes the shine off my oily Italian skin. 
  5. They're a suitable amount for only $1, my tubes of primer and concealer have lasted me two months now and I've barely made a dent in my powder. 
So don't be skeptical if you see the $1 E.L.F cosmetics, in fact, I might even suggest stocking up! If you are a makeup connoisseur, I'm willing to bet their performance would compliment better quality products and save you a bit of money.   
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In other news, I'm feeling quite excited by gothic fashion and makeup again! I'm still looking around for a style that is 100% me, but I'm happy to say my enthusiasm for crafting a spooky image is back! This is largely, and rather sadly, due to my recent acquisition of a Tumblr account . While Tumblr will suck up your life, time, brain and soul considerably occupy you, I would definitely recommend signing up to anyone who finds themselves falling into a fashion rut, its a wonderful place to get inspiration! 
See? I'm so into making new outfits I even
thought of a new use for my skeleton hair clips
Hopefully I'll be making a trip to the thrift store this week where I hope to pick up some pieces to DIY, and to my tattoo artist this weekend, to add a new piece to my forearm. I'm also looking into getting dimple piercings, so you all can roll your eyes at look forward to my selfie spamming in the near future if nothing else.   

Song of the Day: 
I'm really getting into Black Tape For A Blue Girl, they're good to bellydance to. :) My favorite song by them is Tarnished but I can't seem to find it on youtube...